Monday, April 27, 2020

Review - The Honey Don't List

Title:   The Honey Don't List
Author:  Christina Lauren
Publisher:  Gallery Books
Genre:   Women's Fiction
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   308
Date of Publication:   March 24, 2020
My Rating:   5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

Carey Douglas has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple can’t stand each other.

James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.


Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together… 

MY THOUGHTS:

Melissa and Rusty Tripp have a very lucrative and popular home design business. They have a public persona that they must display in order for an upcoming book launch. Sales would never get off the ground if the truth of their failing relationship was made public. As they prepare for this tour, they use two of their employees to travel with them in order to keep things looking as smooth as possible. 

Carey Douglas has been with the company since she was sixteen while James McCann is relatively new, he soon finds out that his esteemed business degree from MIT might have as well have been tossed in the trash due to his current duties with the Tripps. 

Neither Carey nor James appreciate the new duties and responsibilities that fall on their shoulders. They find it critical to keep the secrets of the Tripps failed marriage hidden, and this will allow them to hold on to their jobs. Meanwhile, it doesn't take very long for James and Carey to realize that their have mutual attraction between them. 

Christina Lauren is the remarkable duo of two talented writers. They somehow manage to create likable and relatable characters. Writing characters that are supposed to be happily married who are anything but was done spot on. I loved the buildup of the romance between James and Carey and watching their story evolve was rather enjoyable.

I enjoy this pair of writers and have recently read another book of theirs, The Unhoneymooners, and look forward to reading much more by them in the future.

Many thanks to Gallery Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Yes, there are two of us! Lauren (on the left) and Christina (on the right).

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The #1 international bestselling coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced fifteen New York Times bestselling novels. They are published in over 30 languages, have received multiple starred reviews, won both the Seal of Excellence and Book of the Year from RT Magazine, been inducted into the Library Reads Hall of Fame, named Amazon and Audible Romance of the Year, a Lambda Literary Award finalist and been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. They have been featured in publications such as Forbes, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Time, Entertainment Weekly, People, O Magazine and more. Their third YA novel, Autoboyography was released in 2017 to critical acclaim, followed by  Roomies, Love and Other Words, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, My Favorite Half-Night Stand, and the Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, and Library Journal starred The Unhoneymooners, out May 2019.


Lauren Billings (but everyone calls her Lo) has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and before she made writing her full-time job, would spend her days doing nerdy research-type things wearing a lab coat and goggles. She is silly Mommy to two littles, wife to one mountain biking homebrewing scientist, and an unabashed lover of YA and romance.


Christina Hobbs (but you’ll always hear Lo call her PQ) used to spend her days in a junior high counseling office surrounded by teenagers. These days you can find her at her desk, writing or watching BTS videos. She lives in Utah with her husband and daughter, thinks she’s the luckiest person in the world to write books with her best friend, and is an unapologetic lover of boy bands and glitter.


You can follow their shenanigans at:


@lolashoes (Lauren) & @seeCwrite (Christina) on Twitter, and @ChristinaLauren on instagram.

For official information about their books, events, interviews, movie/TV news and more, follow @christinalauren.


9 comments:

  1. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this author duo!

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  2. I did not realize this author was actually 2 people.

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  3. I must stop time and read this book

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  4. Sounds like a really fun read!

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  5. I've not heard of this book but I like the sound of it. Great review.

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  6. Great review!! I'm behind on their books. Have really liked the ones I've read over the years, but haven't been able to keep up with their releases because there's just so much I want to read and CL always write and publish their books back to back haha. This one is on my TBR atm, alongside Roomies. Hope I get around to read them soon.

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  7. Looks like a really good read.

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  8. I am planning to read this too. Glad to see that you loved it

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